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Oxfam GB: Project Evaluation Consultant

Please note: this opportunity closing date
has passed and may not be available any more.

Opportunity closing date:

Saturday, 22 September, 2012

Opportunity type:

Employment

Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organisations working together in 98 countries and with partners and allies around the world to find lasting solutions to poverty and injustice.

Since May 2010, Oxfam Great Britain (OGB) in South Africa, with funding support from the European Union has been implementing a thirty-month project entitled 'Strengthening Access to Justice and Constitutional Rights for non-Nationals in South Africa'. The final evaluation is expected to provide a comprehensive and reflective analysis of the projects achievements, challenges, best practices and lessons learnt.

Oxfam GB seeks the service of a Consultant to evaluate the Strengthening Access to Justice and Constitutional Rights for non-Nationals in South Africa project.

Introduction and background to the project.

The overall objective of the project is to contribute to the strengthening of democracy by improving the access to justice and constitutional rights of non-nationals in South Africa. Specific objective: to achieve accountable governance and access to protection for non-nationals, representative of the most vulnerable and marginalised groups in South Africa. The project seeks to achieve the following results:

Increase capacity, coordination and actions of civil society organizations (CSOs) towards the improvement of the disaster management system and the protection of human rights in South Africa;

Increased accountability and improved governance among government and civil society institutions responding to and seeking to prevent xenophobic violence through collecting and processing information to enable early warning and to monitor access to the justice system for victims in South Africa;

Increase accountability and improved governance among government and civil society institutions responding to and seeking to prevent xenophobic violence through developing a set of lessons learned and self-evaluation documents for government and civil society institutions to use for the planning and developing of social cohesion initiatives and strategies;

Stronger protection mechanisms to address the safety of non-nationals in South Africa.

Project partners

Oxfam GB works with, African Centre for Migration and Society, ACMS, to increase accountability and improve governance among government and civil society institutions responding to and seeking to prevent xenophobic violence through collecting and processing information to enable early warning and monitor access to justice system for victims.

In addition, the project provides support to Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) as the secretariat of the Humanitarian Assistance Network of South Africa (HANSA) to build the capacity, coordination and actions of CSOs towards the improvement of the disaster management system and protection of human rights.

In addressing the need to contribute to long-term national strategies for social cohesion, ACMS conducted research in communities with past and on-going externally-led and internal anti-xenophobia and social cohesion interventions, and with institutions who carried out these interventions. ACMS also evaluated official government social cohesion policy documents to ascertain their appropriateness and relevance to local conflict factors in diverse communities. The aim is to strengthen the capacity of state and non-state actors in relation to local governance by establishing effective and tested principles of community engagement around diversity and community cohesion.

The project has developed a set of lessons learned and key questions for any institution (including government and civil society) to use when planning social cohesion related work to improve xenophobia-prevention and community cohesion activities.

Oxfam GB supports CoRMSA to lobby the South African government to deal internally and as a key regional player with the human security issues of migrants and refugees through engaging with the Southern Africa Development community (SADC) and the African Union (AU).

Purpose and specific areas of evaluation

The final evaluation is expected to provide a comprehensive and reflective analysis of the projects achievements, challenges, best practices and lessons learnt;

The purpose of the final evaluation aims to assess the extent to which the project achieved its intended overall and specific objectives against set and desired project results.

To draw lessons learnt and best implementation practices.

Are our actions consistent with our strategic project objectives.

Have we been taking sides with the most Vulnerable, non-nationals and other excluded sections of our society?

What tangible changes (or progress towards) have resulted in the lives of vulnerable migrants and poor South Africans? Are the interventions sustainable?

What changes in state policy and law (or progress towards) have resulted from our programmatic actions and initiatives?

Have we been effective enough in promoting issues of human security rights, access to justice and other constitutional rights?

What steps have we been taking to enforce responsibility and accountability of state and other duty bearers? E.g Depts. of Justice, Home Affairs, Health, Chapter nine institutions?

To appraise project partnership model (project management relations between implementing partners, Oxfam and the European Union)

For each project result area, to what extent have the planned outcomes been achieved and how?

Who has benefitted from the project’s interventions and how?

What unexpected outcomes and impact has the project had?

How relevant have the outcomes and impact been to target groups’ needs?

Specific changes in laws and policies

Action research studies commissioned?

Achievements, Failures and Missed Opportunities: What positive changes are occurring and how? What have been the failures? What opportunities were missed and why?

Identifying challenges: What unforeseen (negative) changes are occurring? What are the challenges posed and how could they be addressed?

Ideas for the future: How can positive changes be further increased? How can negative changes be avoided? What are the emerging issues that must also be addressed? By whom?

Project sustainability

What has the project learned and reformed in response to the baseline research findings and recommendations, the case studies and other leanings? How has this learning contributed to the sustainability of the project?

Has the project generated new and innovative ways of working? Have these been documents and shared for learning purposes?

To what extent are exit and sustainability strategies appropriate and effective? Do these exist?

What evidence is there that project structures and methodologies will be sustained?

Methodology

It is anticipated that the consultant will produce an evaluation framework and detailed plan in liaison with Oxfam Project Coordinator and the project accountability team at the inception of the evaluation. Evaluation methods for this consultancy are expected to include:

The Consultant appointed to undertake this final evaluation of the ‘Strengthening Access to Justice and Constitutional Rights for non Nationals’ project will, in liaison with Oxfam Project Coordinator and the project accountability team:

Design and develop an evaluation framework;

Develop a rigorous plan and methodology for the evaluation;

Map and review project documentation and conduct other data collection methodologies to fulfill the evaluation as approved by Oxfam;

Produce full and summary final evaluation reports;

Facilitate an evaluation workshop for project staff.

Oxfam will make available all appropriate documentation and resources for the evaluation. Oxfam will coordinate timely feedback to the draft evaluation reports and submit a management response to the final full report.

Relevant university degree and five years of experience in development project evaluations;

Strong background in areas human rights, advocacy and policy;

Strong analytical and strategic thinking skills;

Understanding of South African and regional constitutional and legal terrain;

Ability to work independently; and

Strong writing and communication skills.

To apply, submit a CV, contact details of two referees and proposal (maximum four pages) showing your understanding of the evaluation and how you would approach the work, including methodologies, any foreseen challenges and a budget to Mthandazo Ndlovu at mndlovu@oxfam.org.uk.